To Learn to Fly
by The Girl With The Silly Smile
Summary: You called me jealous last night, and you know what? I am jealous. But not for my sake. For the others'. You'll always be a part of the Flock, but to be quite frank, as of late, you don't deserve your wings. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

_**To Learn to Fly**_

* * *

In a young girl's mind, it's the most amazing feeling to be held and kissed by the one she loves. Well, I can tell you right off the bat, that those girls are crazy. And maybe I'm a little bitter because _she _has _him _and _I _don't. But damnit, I had him first!

And while he's out with her on their movie-and-ice-cream-dates or whatever it is that they do, _I'm _home with the rest of the family. _His _family.

"Max, are you okay?" Angel asked, her baby blue eyes and bouncy curls giving her the illusion that she was still the six year old Angel I remembered from ten years ago.

Angel was sixteen and had really grown up, despite still having her stuffed angel bear, Celeste, to keep her company in the night.

"I'm fine, Ang. Don't worry about it," I lied, not well, might I add.

"Convincing," Angel laughed, lifting herself up onto the kitchen counter, shoveling a spoonful of Nutella into her mouth.

A smile broke out on my lips as I leaned up against the counter opposite from her, drinking down a Solo cup about half-filled with beer.

"He'll be home soon. You can yell at him then."

Did I not mention that Angel could read minds? Or that our entire family had wings? Probably should've done that, huh? Oh, well, I did now, so.

"Alright, alright, get to bed, Kiddo. Tell the rest I said same goes for them. I'll try not to be too loud when I kill Fang," I winked, taking the spoon and jar of Nutella from Angel and placing them on the counter next to me.

Angel sighed but didn't protest, hopping off the counter and giving me a quick peck on the cheek before trotting down the hall into her bedroom.

After about another hour and a half of sitting on the living room sofa with my feet kicked up on the edge, staring up at the ceiling, I finally heard the 'adorable' goodbyes coming from outside the front door.

I pulled my feet down and sat up, crossing my legs like the lady I wasn't and waited. He was definitely in for a kick to the jewels if all went as I planned.

The front door opened and I could faintly see Fang's 'girlfriend', Ana, retreating back to her car, her long, wavy brown hair whisked up into a ponytail that I couldn't pull off in a million years.

"You're up late," Fang observed, dropping his pack of cigarettes that Ana had no doubt bought him on the coffee table in front of me, grabbing my refilled Solo cup and taking a long sip, his Adam's apple bobbing as he drank.

"You're out late," I shot back, ripping my cup back and downing the rest of it, crunching the cup in my fist and tossing it into the kitchen to be thrown away later.

"Yeah. I really like her, Max. Ana is... She's a lot like you."

And that's when I snapped raising my hand, scarred from many years on the run, and slapped him as hard as I could across his face.

"How dare you," I growled through gritted teeth, standing up so I was of equal—or somewhat equal height—with him.

Fang's hand cupped his cheek and his face contorted angrily.

"What the hell was that about?" Fang asked as if he still hadn't quite registered exactly what happened.

"Don't you ever compare me to her. I'm not anything like your prissy little, can't-take-a-hit girlfriend," I reached down and grabbed his cigarettes and lighter from the coffee table and shoved them at his chest. "Smoke up, Fangy. It's only gonna kill ya."

Fang held my glare as he pulled a cancer stick out of his carton and stuck it into his mouth, lighting up before blowing the smoke into my face in rings.

"Oh, didn't anybody tell you, Max? Jealousy is an ugly shade of green," Fang mumbled, his cigarette breath making me gag.

"You're disgusting."

"And yet you won't get over me."

And that is when my fist collided with his nose, the _crunch _it made echoing through the room.

Fang was taken aback slightly, but given our slightly buffed-up bird-kidness, he wasn't _that _phased by it.

"Now, now, Max you're a grown woman—maybe you'd look like it if you listened to Nudge with some of her clothing suggestions—and you should probably be a better role model for the kids. If you hadn't caught it, that means you probably shouldn't be trying to break the bones of another Flock member."

"Don't you dare tell me how I should and shouldn't act. You're not around enough to dictate what I do. You're always out with your precious Ana. I can't even begin to tell you how often I get asked, 'When's Fang gonna be home?' or 'Is Fang coming home tonight?' or 'Doesn't Fang care about anybody but himself and Ana?'. Frankly, I'm getting tired of saving your ass on a daily basis."

Fang's eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but my face.

"Then don't," Fang grumbled, taking another long drag of his cigarette.

I didn't reply, I just shoved past him and walked into the kitchen, picking up my crumpled up Solo and tossing it in the trash before cleaning up Angel's Nutella spoon.

"Max, what happened? We used to be best friends. We used to sit and talk for hours in your room while the rest of the Flock was asleep. What happened to that?"

"Ana happened."

* * *

"Max! Maaaax! Wake up!" Nudge squealed, bouncing on my bed on her knees like some kind of dog.

I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, burying my face in my pillow.

"What?" I snapped, opening one eye, looking at her big, chocolate brown doe eyes.

"Angel wants to know how it went with Fang last night. She knew I could wake you up a lot easier than she could because, well, let's face it, I have a tendency to talk and talk and talk and talk. That and she saw that Fang was sleeping in his room with crusted blood beneath his nose and none of us heard any kind of fight so—" and that's when my hand clapped over her mouth, shutting her the heck _up._

"Well, you can tell Angel that unfortunately, I'm now awake and she can come in and ask me herself," I grumbled, sitting up and running my fingers through my hair as I always did when I first woke up.

About five minutes later, Angel showed up in my bedroom with Fang in tow.

"Angel," I said sternly, looking only at her and not at the man with a crooked nose.

Angel gave a weak, nervous laugh before coming over to my bedside and sitting in front of me.

"See, I know you're mad, Max, but I figured since _clearly _you and Fang need to talk, I thought I could save you the trouble and just bring him here and let you two talk it out. And maybe even an apology or two!" Angel shrieked, adding the apology part at the end.

Yeah, right. Fang would get an apology from me when pigs flew.

Angel was quick to scurry out of my room and slam the door behind her, pushing a chair up under the knob on the outside, effectively locking Fang and I in my room... _Yay!_

Fang and I stayed silent for what felt like hours, but was actually about six and a half minutes, before he spoke up.

"What do you have against Ana?"

"What do I have against her?" I asked, exaggerating it as much as possible, emphasizing the hurt I was feeling. "Well, let's see. She's taken you from us, Fang. You don't care what happens to any of us anymore, but if Ana were even in the slightest bit of danger, you'd be there to swoop in—figuratively and literally—to save her. You called me jealous last night, and you know what? I am jealous. But not for my sake. For the others'. You'll always be a part of the Flock, but to be quite frank, as of late, you don't deserve your wings."

Fang looked genuinely hurt when I said that, but honestly, I didn't care anymore. He used to be my partner in crime, and now he's a stranger that only sometimes lives in my house.

"Do you know why I'm so protective over Ana?" Fang asked, a rhetorical question. "Because I know the Flock can handle themselves. Especially when led by you, Max. Ana's 100% human and wasn't grafted with genetics that could save her life, you were. I know you guys feel neglected, but I'm just trying to keep her safe. And on top of that, she told me she loves me. I—"

"So did I! I told you I loved you years ago, and you know what? I _still_ do! No matter how much I try to stop, or convince myself that you're only going to continue hurting me, I can't! I'm stuck in this never-ending state of loving someone who does not, and will not love me back! And it kills me, Fang. It just kills me."

* * *

Soo, I know it's been almost a year since I've posted ANYTHING, and I'm so so sorry about that. I really am. School got the best of me, and I shouldn't use that as an excuse, but it really is what happened.

I hope you enjoyed this, though, for right now.

Also, should this stay a one-shot, or should it continue? I don't know. Feedback, please!

xoxo,

K.J


	2. Chapter 2

_**To Learn to Fly**_

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

"Max? It's Dyl," I heard Dylan through my bedroom door three days after my fight with Fang.

"Come in."

Dylan opened the door and stepped through, plopping himself down on my bed next to me after closing my door behind him.

"How ya feelin'?" Dylan asked, ruffling my hair before turning my body slightly to the side, putting my legs up on his so he could rub my feet for me.

"I'm annoyed as all hell. Am I being childish?"

Dylan and I have been becoming closer and closer since Fang's girlfriend came into the picture. I know Dylan still wished he and I could be together (hence why he was massaging my feet) but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt not only him, but myself as well, in that way. And I sure couldn't pretend to be interested in someone I wasn't.

"Not really. He's being childish. I understand that he's happy with Ana, but he shouldn't forget about his family. And beyond that, he shouldn't forget about you, who's been there for him since day one."

"I'm not even that worried about me anymore though. It's more so for Iggy and Gazzy. They're the boys and need their third musketeer. And of course the girls who need their 'brother'."

Dylan smiled and rubbed his fingers along the bottoms of my feet—which felt amazing, by the way!

"And I guess for me, too. Dylan, I'm in love with him. And I have been since I was fourteen. And no matter how much I try not to be, I'm in love with him. I either want him to leave completely, or love me back. But I know neither are going to happen, so now it's me, you, and your wonderful foot massage hands!"

* * *

"So, Max, how was your 'talk' with Dylan in your bed earlier?" Fang asked once he got home from his late night with Ana... Again.

"Great. I got to slam you for an hour _and _get my feet massaged. And plus, at least _someone _listens to what I have to say," I snapped back.

"Oh, please. Don't even try to play it off like you're not sleeping with Dylan."

"I'm not, though. You see, Fang, it is possible to be _just friends _with someone of the opposite sex. And just because you can't go over to Ana's apartment and not unbutton her jeans doesn't mean all girls are like that."

Fang rolled his eyes and pulled a cigarette out of his carton, fumbling for his lighter for a bit before finding it and lighting up.

"Well, it's not like I force Ana into having sex with me. It's _all _consensual_._"

I rolled my eyes and stretched my legs out as far as they would go on the couch so Fang had no choice but to stand.

"You know, Max, I've actually been looking forward to coming home to fight with you these past few nights," Fang winks, blowing out his cigarette smoke.

"Good, glad I entertain you."

Fang gave a crooked smile that usually would have made me weak at the knees, but because I was too busy gagging on the cigarette smoke, I couldn't care less.

"Plus, Ana's been moody recently. And her ex-boyfriend has been sniffing around recently and she either needs to tell him to get lost or sleep with him so I can break up with her."

"And what exactly are you going to do with your life when you do break up with her—if you do, that is."

Fang smirked, laughing as he looked up at the ceiling for a minute before back at me.

"Give another girl a ride, of course."

"You're disgusting."

"You say that every time we fight. Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

"Sadly, both of us."

* * *

I know it's pathetic, but I couldn't help but take an extra long shower to give myself time to think about everything.

There was no getting around the fact that I was in love with Fang. And in the foreseeable future, that very fact wasn't going to change.

But his talking about 'giving another girl a ride' honestly made my stomach turn. Now, I'm not trying to say what he should and shouldn't do with his—ahem—assets, but it's definitely not something I'm all that interested in hearing about.

And I suppose it may have been partly out of jealousy that I had been in such a bad mood, but it was also in part to the fact that Fang was just being such a jerk about everything.

He always came home from Ana's smelling like perfume and sex and it bugs the hell out of me.

Fine, I was jealous. Ana had Fang and I wanted him. Plus, I had him first! He told _me _he loved me first and the fact that Ana was giving him everything I wished I could, sucked. Hardcore.

When I finished thinking and my fingers had started to go wrinkly, I stepped out of the shower, only to be scared half-to-death by the very bane of my existence himself.

"Good grief, Fang, at least make a sound or move or something. I nearly dropped my towel!" I shrieked, shoving him backward roughly before walking into my bedroom.

"That would have been a show. Maybe I should scare you again."

I rolled my eyes and groaned, heading into my closet to get dressed. Of course, Fang just _had _to follow me. Though, he did have some respect because he sat on my bed, facing the opposite direction of where I was changing.

"Shouldn't you be with Ana?"

"Nope. I dropped her. She just called crying because her ex-boyfriend that's been around showed up at her house and I guess one thing led to another, and she said that she didn't deserve to be with me because she couldn't say no."

As I was pulling my pair of girls' boxers onto my legs, I sighed. Well, I should be sorry for him. But frankly, I didn't really care much,

"Well, that sucks. Don't most guys drink and go to strip clubs when their girlfriend cheats on them?"

I pulled a t-shirt onto my torso and stepped out of my closet, towel drying my hair as I did.

Fang turned around and laughed slightly.

"Usually. But most guys don't live with their hot ex-girlfriend. Plus, like I said, I enjoy arguing with you."

"Don't say things like that, Fang," I said as I bit my lip and tossed my towel into my hamper.

"Why not?"

I didn't answer. I left him in my room while I went into the bathroom to braid my hair before bed.

_Because I know you're only saying it to taunt me. I know you'd never bounce back that fast—especially not to me._

* * *

Ello, all! I originally wasn't going to upload this until tomorrow, but I decided to change my mind! (:

Hope you all enjoyed and stay tuned for the next and final chapter! (:

xoxo,

K.J


	3. Chapter 3

_**To Learn to Fly**_

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

Now, every day, as soon as I wake up, I sit up, stretch my back and run my fingers through my hair, without fail. What wasn't an every day occurrence was being tugged slightly over to the other side of my bed to snuggle with another person occupying my bed.

In fact, there was never anyone else allowed to sleep in my bed. It just wasn't allowed. Especially because I like to starfish myself and sleep with all limbs stretched to the max.

"Lay back down, baby. It's still early," the man next to me, well-known as Fang, mumbled against his pillow.

Confused? Let's backtrack a little. Well, about five days.

* * *

Once Fang and Ana were broken up for good, or at least twenty-four hours, Fang and I started to resume our late nights of up-all-night talking. The first two nights were simply talking—about everything.

However, when it became night three, Fang took it upon himself to kiss me—not that I minded much. (No matter how much I wanted to.)

After the kiss, Fang and I went back to talking like nothing happened. Which, in essence, was probably not a great idea because, well, every day things got more and more intense.

By the fourth night, Fang and I were horizontal on my bed, attached at the mouth for a good hour and a half. And although I knew I should have pushed him away and stopped him, I couldn't. It was just too good. I knew I was probably just a rebound from Ana who was convenient because Fang lived with me, but I just couldn't push him away.

But the fifth night was when things went a little crazy. Obviously, he ended up sleeping in my bed, which is a big no-no in the Max Ride handbook. But did I also mention that he kind of wasn't wearing clothes? Nor was I?

Again, I couldn't bring myself to stop him, or stop myself for that matter.

* * *

"This will be interesting to explain," I groaned, falling down onto my side of the bed, as far away from Fang as I could.

"Max, I think the Flock expected us to somehow fall back into bed with each other once Ana was out of the picture."

Yes, Fang said 'fall _back_ into bed with each other'. That was actually the fourth time I'd woken up with a naked Fang in my bed. But in my defense, it was the first time in about a year and a half.

"You make it sound like I killed Ana," I said, getting out of bed and walking over to my closet to throw on some undergarments and a robe so I wasn't completely naked.

"You would have if she hadn't cheated and I stayed with her," Fang laughed, sitting up right, letting the blanket fall slightly so it only covered his lower half.

I rolled my eyes, but stayed standing on the opposite side of my room from him.

"Hey, Max?" Fang began, but didn't let me answer. "Can you come back over here. I just want to see something."

Skeptically, I walked over to the bed by Fang, sitting down on the edge by his legs.

"Don't flinch or move away. Promise?"

I nodded, but was still very skeptical.

Fang sat up even more and leaned closer to me, placing his hand on my neck to hold me in place.

I had a feeling I knew what he was going to do, and I was right.

He kissed me.

And here's the shocker. I kissed him back.

Okay, fine. It probably wasn't a shocker at all, but I thought it sounded cooler.

I slid myself a little closer to where Fang was sitting and wrapped both arms around his neck.

Fang wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, and lifted me up onto the bed next to him. I was laying completely on my back, and Fang was about half way on top of me, kissing me more passionately than I'd ever been kissed before.

I curled my fingers into his hair, reveling in the feeling of him holding my waist so tightly.

I was so wrapped up in kissing Fang that I didn't realize my bedroom door being opened. Wonderful.

"Well, I found them! Both of them!" I heard Angel yell.

Fang and I broke apart as quickly as we could and Fang immediately reached for the blanket to make sure he was still covered. Thank goodness he was.

"Oh my gosh. Please, Fang, for the sake of my little heart, please tell me you have clothes on," Angel begged.

"Sorry," Fang laughed, patting the blanket covering his lower half.

Angel made a face like she was going to be traumatized for the rest of her life before running out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"That was sort of entertaining," Fang laughed.

I couldn't help but laugh, though I felt bad that Angel had to see that.

I got up out of bed and searched around for Fang's clothes, which I tossed to him when I found them.

Fang only put on his boxers, but better them than walk around naked.

"I suppose we should go out to explain..." I said, remaking my bed.

"What's there to explain? They've never heard of two people having sex before?" Fang asked, laughing because he's _so _funny.

"Not us."

Fang rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine. Though, I still don't understand why you feel the need to explain that we had sex last night. Big deal."

I rolled my eyes and left my bedroom, not waiting for Fang.

All of the Flock members, save for Fang of course, were out in the kitchen, awaiting Iggy's amazing smelling breakfast, talking like Angel hadn't just witnessed what she had.

"I think that's Max, so eggs or pancakes?" Iggy asked, flipping his pancakes in the pan.

"Uh, pancakes, I guess."

Angel and Nudge were gushing over an article in _Seventeen Magazine _and Gazzy was helping Iggy. Nobody seemed phased by Fang and I.

Although, I suppose there wasn't much to be phased by. So, Fang and I had sex. Big deal... Okay. Big deal to me, but not to everyone else apparently.

Fang silently appeared next to me, scratching the back of his head, as he always did when he woke up. As he stretched, his boxers dipped down even lower, exposing more of the small trail of hair that disappeared down his pants... Not that I was looking, of course.

Fang smiled slightly and placed his hand on my lower back, letting it slide slowly downward. As quickly as I could, I whirled around and smacked his hand, squealing in surprise.

Again, the kids seemed unphased.

"Ig, keep my pancakes warm, I'll be right back," I said, grabbing Fang by the ear and dragging him down the hall to my bedroom.

"Ow! Is this really necessary?" Fang groaned, trying to pry my fingers off of his ear.

I closed my bedroom door behind me before I began talking, though, sometimes even that doesn't help with how often the younger kids like to eavesdrop on my conversations.

"Fang, it's bad enough that we did what we did last night—"

"Had sex," Fang cut me off.

"Fine, we had sex. But you really don't need to be flaunting it and grabbing my butt in front of the kids! They're _kids_,Fang! Treat them like it. I'm sure they don't want to see that."

"No, Max. They're not kids," Fang began, stepping closer so he was right in front of me. "The youngest Flock member, Angel, is sixteen. You were a leader and a makeshift mother and so much more by the time you were sixteen. And even more than that, if I want to touch you, or do this," he said, a slightly seductive tone in his voice as he kissed me, placing both of his hands on my hips. "I will."

Despite my being quite surprised by the random kiss, I was still glad he kissed me at all.

"And you're not gonna stop me."

* * *

So, that was it! I think, at least. I'm not quite sure if I'll write another chapter, but it's a possibility. But don't hold your breath.

Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed this! (: I enjoyed writing it!

xoxo,

K.J


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